What Partners Are For
by Belle Walker
Summary: A few fun little glimpses into our favorite partnership.
1. Chapter 1

He frowned at the cryptic message on his phone. _'Help'_, it said, and gave an address.

According to the phone, the message was from Kensi. But it was their day off and he knew she was supposed to be meeting some guy for lunch that day.

And if she was on a date…why would she be asking him for help?

Unless her date wasn't going as well as she'd hoped…

Deeks texted back, _'Enjoying your date?'_

'_No'_, was Kensi's response. _'Please get me out of here!'_

He grinned. This could be fun…

'_It'll cost you,'_ he replied._  
_

But he wasn't specific about what it would cost her. He'd have to think up something really good…

He waited several seconds, and he could almost picture Kensi's indecision at his lack of specifics.

'_Fine,'_ she answered._  
_

She must be desperate if she didn't want to lay out any terms first.

Alright, then. He pocketed his phone and headed for the address she'd sent.

Kensi sat at a far table in the café with her back to the windows, pretty much trapped in that corner as she eyed the exit that was too far away.

A little careless of her, Deeks thought to himself. She should have left herself at least one way out.

He stepped further inside, catching her eye as he approached the table.

Yep, she'd definitely been the one sending him the texts. Her phone was in her hands under the café table where her date couldn't see it.

And Date-Guy was talking, gesturing a little, and completely boring Kensi out of her mind.

Deeks could tell — he knew that look. His partner had a talent for appearing interested on the surface while internally letting her mind block out any incessant prattle that she didn't want to hear.

And her date was too involved in his talking to even notice that her gaze had landed on someone else.

Deeks towered over the café table, fixing his partner with a look of indignation as he interrupted her date's monologue. "Really? I leave the house for one hour, and you're _already_ cheating on me?"

Relieved that he was actually bailing her out of this disaster, Kensi gratefully played along. "But honey, I was _lonely_."

"Eight kids at home, and you were _'lonely'_?" he echoed, having fun with this. "Babe, we've talked about this. You cannot keep abandoning our kids to go have your flings. This is — what, the fourth time this week?"

"You have eight kids?" Date-Guy echoed, looking at Kensi in surprise.

Deeks turned his attention to the guy. "And which one are you? Doug? Roger? _Felipe?_" He looked back at Kensi again. "Sugar, please tell me he's not another pool boy?"

"Uh — Robert," the guy stammered nervously. "I'm — I'm a veterinarian…"

Deeks hooked a thumb in Kensi's direction. "Chronic cheater, this one. But she's my wife — I love her anyway."

He gave a nonchalant shrug and a friendly but firm slap to Robert's shoulder. "Well, it was nice to meet you, Bob — but if you don't mind, I'll take it from here."

Obviously dismissed and quite baffled about the situation, Robert could do nothing but relinquish his seat with one more confused look at the woman across from him.

Kensi pasted a contrite downward expression on her face as Deeks claimed the seat.

"Oh — and don't bother calling her," Deeks raised his voice at Robert's retreating back.

Only after her former date had gone out the door did Kensi look at Deeks with amusement. "Really? Eight kids?"

"And you still managed to keep your girlish figure," Deeks replied impishly. "So what soured your date so much that you had to call for backup?"

"Oh my god," she exhaled with an exaggerated shiver as she recalled just exactly when it went downhill. "It was about the time when he started detailing what he considered to be the finer points of animal husbandry."

"Egh," Deeks answered, appalled. "Not quite the best topic to discuss on a date."

"Not the best topic to discuss _ever_," Kensi agreed wholeheartedly. She regarded him with true gratefulness. "Thanks for getting rid of him."

"That's what partners are for." He grinned suddenly. "Now…let's talk about what you can do for me in return."


	2. Chapter 2

She was going to kill her partner.

Correction: first she was going to take five showers in a row. _Then_ she was going to kill her partner.

How on earth had he suckered her into going undercover with him like this?

Of all the ways she could have paid him back for his rescuing her from that horrible date, never in her mind had _this_ scenario played out.

Yes, they'd gone undercover together as a couple. Dating, engaged, married — they'd done it all before.

But a _homeless_ married couple? _Seriously?_

Oh. My. God.

The only thing worse than the smell of his bum wardrobe was the outfit _she_ was currently cringing in.

Five showers may not be enough to get rid of this stench. Maybe five _months_ of showers…

And she was going to burn every piece of this clothing as soon as humanly possible. And she may even burn _his_ clothes, too — with or without him still wearing them!

"What?" Deeks asked innocently, noting the glare his partner was sending his direction.

"You're a dead man," Kensi stiffly ground out.

"Aww, come on, Sunshine," he drawled, hooking a playful arm around her neck. "You've never looked better. Although you've certainly _smelled_ better…"

She punched him through the layers of his flea-bitten jacket.

"Hey, now — is that any way to treat your loving hubby?" he chastised, dropping his arm to her waist and allowing his other one to join it. "Just 'cause he's homeless, doesn't mean he's heartless."

"What kind of 'loving hubby' tackles his wife into a _mud puddle_?" she countered archly, both hands planted firmly on his chest in a vain attempt to push him away.

He grinned, his face close to hers. "Well, you've gotta look authentic, and you refused to get dirty any other way."

Thank god for small miracles — the only thing that _didn't_ smell rotten was his breath. Despite the deliberate yellowish-brown coating temporarily covering his front teeth, his breath smelled refreshingly like peppermint candy.

Sweet minty smell…

If it wasn't for the nasty-looking teeth grinning down at her, she might be tempted to close the gap and _taste_ that peppermint too.

Instead, she wiped her hands on the front of her disgustingly-filthy jacket, collecting as much mud and god-knows-what-else as she could — and evilly brought her fingers up to her partner's scruffy but rather clean face.

She couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up at the expression on his face as she smeared the mud on his cheeks with both hands.

Deeks wrinkled his nose, looking less than amused by her actions. "Who is going to be killing _whom_ here?" he deadpanned.

Maybe the mud-facial had been a mistake?

Kensi's hands dropped back to his chest and this time she pushed herself out of his embrace.

"Where are you going, partner?" Deeks called after her as she backed away several steps.

"I'm going home to take shower," she answered, turning her back to him as she continued on.

He couldn't believe she was abandoning him. "Hey — you don't get a shower until I do!" he hollered to her retreating back. "Sunshine! Princess…?"

She kept walking…but she didn't get far before being tackled into yet another mud puddle in the dark alley.

Apparently her partner was not amused with her attempt to abort the mission without him.

"What the hell, Deeks? !" she gasped, staring with incredulous eyes at the face that now hovered just inches above hers.

"We had a deal," he reminded her, all trace of humor gone from his face and his voice.

It was a rare sight to see him without a smile or grin, and although his dead-serious expression didn't scare her…it actually kind of turned her on.

Only he could still manage to look sexy in moth-eaten clothes with a stocking cap on his head.

Yellowed teeth be damned, she wanted to kiss him.

This time _she_ used humor to deflect the tension. "I never said you couldn't join me for that shower."

The corners of his lips quirked, and his eyes sparkled down at her. "Really?" he voiced with a saucy grin.

"Yeah," she answered easily. Taking advantage of his surprise, she rolled them both over and pinned him to the ground instead. "Of course, I may be fully-clothed at the time," she added impishly, getting to her feet.

"Spoil-sport," Deeks quipped, picking himself up out of the mud.

He hooked one arm around her shoulders, making sure to get her just as wet and dirty as he was (although she'd already been half-submerged in the puddle herself).

"Thanks for coming with me," he offered nicely, as if they hadn't just wrestled in a mud-hole in a filthy alley.

Resigned to fulfill her duty with this particular op, Kensi sighed and slipped her own arm behind his back. "That's what partners are for."


	3. Chapter 3

_I swear, this fic refuses to sit quietly in the corner! **Scalia**, this chapter's for you._

* * *

He felt kind of bad for making her stick around this long.

When he'd accepted this assignment from the LAPD and conned Kensi into accompanying him, he hadn't counted on them having to actually spend the night on the street like real homeless people.

He should've known better.

"Why don't you go home?" Deeks voiced quietly. "No point in both of us catching a cold out here."

"I'll go home when you do," the woman sitting beside him under the tarp answered stubbornly.

"Kens..."

"Nope. We had a deal. I'm staying right here."

He felt a rush of appreciation for his partner. Usually he did this kind of assignment all on his own. It was nice to have the company...especially _her_ company.

"Are you warm enough?" he asked.

"Are you kidding?" her teeth chattered with her shivered reply. "It's a freakin' heat wave out here."

Deeks chuckled at her sarcasm and unwillingness to admit cold or defeat.

He unbuttoned his dirty, moth-eaten coat and then reached for hers.

"What are you doing?" Kensi asked as she felt his hands opening the front of her jacket.

"Conserving body heat." He laid on his back on the cold ground and held one arm out in the darkness. "Come here."

She eyed him a moment, sensing a trick. Or at least a flirtation of some sort.

"Really?" he prompted when she hesitated. "You'd rather freeze?"

She bit her lip, considering.

Finally laying down with him, she slid both of her arms around his waist inside the warmth of his coat.

He pulled the long sides of the coat around her as far as they would go and his arms held her snugly against him.

"Is this how you normally get girls to cuddle with you?" Kensi quipped, her lips inches away from his dirty stubble-covered jaw.

"Well, usually I treat them to a nice can of sardines first," he answered lightly. "Maybe even a pretzel or two."

Her muffled snort of amusement reached his ears. "Deeks?"

"Yeah?"

"You smell like a swamp."

He laughed softly. "You're not exactly a bouquet of roses, yourself."

"First thing I'm gonna do when I get home," she murmured sleepily. "Is soak in a nice, hot bubble bath for about a _day_."

"Might there be room in that bubble bath for two?" he impishly put in.

Her lips quirked into a smile he couldn't see. "Maybe..."

"Awesome."

"Deeks?" she said again after a short pause.

"Hmm?"

She snuggled her face against his neck. "Thank you for making me warm."

He grinned to himself, tightening his hold on her. "That's what partners are for."

"Deeks."

"What?"

"Take your hand off my ass."


	4. Chapter 4

"Now _this_ is what partners are for."

"Somehow I think Sam and Callen might disagree with that one," she answered. "Not to mention Hetty."

Deeks considered that. "They're just jealous," he concluded simply.

Kensi sank further into the warm water that nearly reached the rim of her extra-deep bathtub. "Much better than a cold mud puddle, wouldn't you say?"

"By far." He ran a lazy trail of suds down her arm and back up again. "I'm glad you talked me into this."

She scoffed lightly. "_You're_ the one who invited yourself over."

"And you must've been expecting me, because you had the bubble bath all ready when I got here."

"And now I'm reconsidering my decision to allow you to stay."

His hand stilled on her arm. "Really?" he asked, sounding disappointed.

She tilted her head to grin up at him. "No."

"You tease." His fingers continued their sudsy path along her skin.

She reclined against him in the fluffy bubbles, chuckling in delight as his lips found the side of her neck.

Now that his teeth were sparkling white again and the temporary yellow stain for their homeless cover was a distant memory, Kensi had no qualms whatsoever about introducing her mouth to his.

Thankful that her large bathtub allowed room for movement, she turned partially to face him and brought two bubble-covered hands to cradle his face.

"Hi," she said softly, a playful smile on her lips.

Deeks smiled back. "Hi."

Her fingers slid upward to tangle in his damp hair.

"Judging by the look on your face, you're either about to kiss me, or drown me."

She turned fully to face him now, straddling his legs with her knees and bringing her face a little higher than his.

"Where's the fun in drowning you?" she asked easily, setting her arms loosely around his neck. "Besides, you're a surfer — you can probably breathe underwater or something."

"Yep, that's me — a regular fish." His arms tugged her closer, sliding around her slippery waist under the water.

"At least you don't smell like a swamp anymore," she offered pleasantly. "And those teeth — oh my _god_."

He lifted his chin and gave her a lofty look. "I had minty-fresh breath."

"Yes, you did," she replied with a little smile. "And aside from your hand on my ass, that was the _only_ thing about you that was fresh."

He laughed. "You sure cuddled up to my swamp smell out there."

"That's because I was freezing to death. People do desperate things in the face of hypothermia."

"Desperate things, like inviting their partners into their bubble baths?" he grinned impishly.

"You invited _yourself_," she insisted. "I just didn't have the heart to kick you out."

His gaze dropped briefly to her lips which still hovered awfully close to his. "You don't _want_ to kick me out," he said softly, closing the space between them and finally claiming her mouth in a kiss.

She indulged in it, throwing caution and propriety out the window as her fingers tangled in his hair once more.

The kiss deepened but her knees slipped on the floor of the bathtub and the movement sent sudsy water sloshing over the edge.

"Oops," she chuckled, her hands landing on his shoulders for balance.

Deeks grinned at her. "Talk about falling for your partner!"

Kensi gave his shoulders a light push. "Shut up." Then she went for another kiss before resuming her original position with her back to his chest.

He pulled her snugly against him again. "Thanks for sharing your bubble bath."

She settled back into his arms with a satisfied smile. "Like you said…this is what partners are for."

* * *

The End


End file.
